Addiction is NOT a Brain Disease

      REVIEW OF ARTICLE: “ADDICTION IS A BRAIN DISEASE” by Dr. Alan I. Leshner

A prime idea developing along with scientific “progress” over the decades is that addiction to substances is a brain disease that develops over time resulting from the (initially) voluntary behavior of using drugs.

 

Dr. Leshner describes addiction as first a freely made choice, which then becomes a developing compulsion that ends up pretty hopeless. The brain structure changes, he argues, and therefore maybe five to seven percent of all addicts…ever quits.

http://www.addictionrecoveryguide.org/articles/

 

So it finally happened. I was really hoping I would find an article like this, so I could talk about how dangerous this view it is, although there are some elements of truth.

 

What is disturbing is the way the elements of truth are manipulated to take the human element away from the humane care and restoration of any substance abuser.

 

Of course the brain “changes”. It changes with everything we do that is not exactly like the thing we did ten minutes ago. That also has been scientifically proven.

 

But the point is, regarding addiction, that with science focusing on the “brain”, ordinary people can and do get the idea that this would be different from a PERSON that has changed.

 

Even though, later in the article, the author lays out a “disclaimer” that Alzheimers  and schizophrenia and ADD are “brain” diseases too…so the case is closed, supposedly. But look very carefully at the language and at the “spin” in the following sentences from this same article:

 

“What really matters most is whether or not a drug causes what we now know to be the essence of addiction, namely

·         The uncontrollable, compulsive drug craving, seeking, and use, even in the face of negative health and social consequences.

This is the crux of how the Institute of Medicine, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Medical Association define addiction and how we all should use the term.

It is really only this compulsive quality of addiction that matters in the long run to the addict and to his or her family and that should matter to society as a whole.

Thus, the majority of the biomedical community now considers addiction, in its essence, to be a brain disease:

·         A condition caused by persistent changes in brain structure and function.”  

But I at Beautiful Quitters say that is the opposite of the truth.  I don’t care how many authorities might think so.  Addiction is NOT a “brain disease”!! Read those above sentences again and see if you don’t feel the spin as well.

 

What I mean by “spin” is the deliberate twisting of partial evidence, to assume, for some ulterior motive, pseudo-“conclusions” that might just be patently FALSE.  And spinning partial evidence seems shady and unscientific too.

 

These substances, tobacco included, or gambling or compulsive bird watching for that matter…do NOT “cause” the addictions. But the feeling of deprivation in the person’s life…might.If you never pick up another thing from this webpage of mine I hope and pray that you will “get” this one point. Please see my other articles especially the ones featuring Dr. Gabor Mate, a leading humanistic addictions specialist in Canada.

                                      And there's that "G" word again...egaaad!!!!

And naturally, the tiring “genetic” argument comes up again…as if genes are destiny. But he never said there was a gene for any of the items just mentioned, or for addictions either. There may be genes for temperament, quiet, boisterous, reactive, slow to react, etc….but that’s ALL. The rest is sheer fantasy and spin!

 

What looks like genetic change is similar to what looks like brain change, but it all begs the question of reversal. With recovery the genetics change again too, that has also been proven scientifically.

 

Of course the BODY (and the brain included with that) might not bounce back so easily if we wait 4 decades to overcome our addiction. And along with that, our predilections. But that is not the same as “the brain” alone.

 

So please beware of articles like this. As a developing geezer I have seen this trend become ever more relentless and pervasive over the years. There is a real push in the medical and psychiatric communities…to literally take control of our health out of our hands and appropriate it for themselves, paranoid as that might sound. But I am not the only one to say this. 

And it sure is lucrative now with over sixty-nine thousand categories of human psychological distress, disease and disorder in the latest “psychological/psychiatric disease compendium”, the weighty (2013) DSM 5….versus maybe 19,000 just about 22 years ago.

 

One prominent critic has been Allen Frances, a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Duke University who chaired the DSM-IV task force.

 

Frances charges that through a combination of new disorders and lowered thresholds, the DSM-5 is expanding the boundaries of psychiatry to encompass many whom he describes as the “worried well.”

http://www.livescience.com/34496-psychiatric-manual-stirs-controversy.html

 

Where oh where did they all come from you might ask. And why this great leap in numbers?    

     ADDICTION IS NOT A BRAIN DISEASE, IT COMES FROM DEPRIVATION 

The truth is addiction is a disease of human deprivation. It is caused by not getting some of our essential needs met and then the stresses produced by that set up the brain like a tripwire…for accepting any feel-good substance as a substitute, and the rest is easy to understand.

 

When the behavior is repeated enough the habit will become ingrained and the brain patterns will obediently reflect these changes. Just like with any compelling non-material habit like auto racing or bird watching or working all hours nonstop. Makes sense.

 

But the reason why it is hard to quit a substance use issue… is that the underlying problems haven’t been addressed, or if they have, they were not approached with a view to acceptance, self-forgiveness and finally a growing self-empowerment to do better. 

 

But  here at Beautiful Quitters that is always my philosophy. All human behavior has reasons and we can also give ourselves reasons. We can also find ways to work on getting all our needs met no matter what the prior handicap and no matter how late it is.

 

The key is self-compassion and a growing self-awareness. That way we know what we are really looking for, and then we get quality results.

 

I realize it is trendy to talk about the connection between brain and behavior. It is also supposedly trendy to think there is a pill for every discomfort and grief in our lives. Most addictions “authorities” have sold out on this stuff.

 

 But don’t forget, there have been other periods in history when many interesting substances abounded and the addiction problem was not anywhere near the  levels we have today. And that was not necessarily due to more awareness, and certainly not due to anti-addictions campaigns.

 

So if you might be interested in a kind, skillful and effective quit-coach you can access over the phone, write me at Averayugen@mail.com and lets see what we can do together to help you out.